10 Main Buddhists Festivals

There are quite a few Buddhists festivals. Here are some festivals and what they are about:

1) Buddhist New Year
In some countries like Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Lao, the new year is celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April.

2) Vesak
This festival celebrates the Birthday of Buddha. In one day, the Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. This festival takes place on the first full moon of May.

3) Magha Puja Day
Magha Puja Day takes places on the full moon day of the third lunar month (March). This holy day is to commemorate an important event in the life of the Buddha, the fourfold assembly.

4) Asalha Puja Day
Asalha Puja means to honor Buddha on the full moon day of the 8th lunar month (approximately July). It recalls and shows respect to the Buddha’s first teaching.

5) Uposatha
The four holy days in each month. These holy days are during the new moons, full moons and quarter moons. On these days the Buddhists fast (they don’t eat at all).

6) Kathina Ceremony
In this ceremony new robes are offered to Buddhists monks.

7) Abhidhamma Day
This day celebrates the event when the Buddha is said to have gone to the Heaven to teach his mother. It is held on the full moon of April.

8) Songkran
This Buddhist festival goes on for several days during the middle of April. People clean their houses and wash their clothes and enjoy sprinkling perfumed water on the monks. This festival is like a spring cleaning!

9) Loy Krathong
This festival takes place on the full moon night of the Twelfth Lunar month. People bring bowls made of leaves, which contain flowers, candles and incense sticks. People float them in water and as they go, all bad luck is suppose to disappear.

10) The Ploughing Festival
This festival takes place in May, when the moon is half-full, two white oxen pull a gold painted plough, followed by four girls dressed in white who throw rice seeds from baskets. This is to celebrate the Buddha’s first moment of enlightenment, which happened when Buddha was seven years old, when he had gone with his father to watch the ploughing.